Wuthering Heights, directed by Rudolph Cartier. Keith Michell as Heathcliff, Claire Bloom as Cathy, Patrick Troughton as Hindley, David McCallum as Edgar, Jean Anderson as Ellen, and June Thorburn as Isabella. 95 minutes. 1962.
An early TV attempt to do justice to the classic novel in 95 minutes doesn’t quite come off, although it has the correct Gothic chills by the end.
Claire Bloom is a radiant, free-spirited Cathy, although her accent is a bit wayward. As her Heathcliff, Keith Michell smoulders with rage, passion and arrogance, but he would improve in acting range over the next decade.
Rounding out the cast, David McCallum as Edgar, June Thorburn as Isabella (her decline from flighty and flirty to desperate is sad to see), Jean Anderson as Ellen, Patrick Troughton as Hindley, and Ronald Howard as Mr Lockwood.
This Rudolph Cartier production was showing as part of the BFI Gothic season and can now be found in the BFI Mediatheque.